West Coast may have landed four ready-made AFL talents across both nights of the 2023 draft, however, Eagles list boss, Rohan O'Brien, failed to leave Marvel Stadium on Tuesday night without raising issues with the league's Academy bidding process.
Across the two-night event, the Eagles welcomed each of Harley Reid (Pick 1), Archer Reid (Pick 30), Clay Hall (Pick 38) and Harvey Johnston (Pick 49), covering bases at the coalface and ahead of the ball.
And with each of Hall (Peel Thunder), Johnston (Sandringham Zebras) and Harley Reid (Carlton VFL) having lined up against senior bodies at state league level during the course of 2023, head coach Adam Simpson has been handed talents that should be ready for AFL action sooner rather than later.
"It's probably a happy coincidence that they've had a little bit of exposure," O'Brien admitted to the press pack at Marvel Stadium.
"That's a nice bonus to it all, but it wasn't something that we set out to do."
While Simpson's engine room and offensive line have doubtlessly been bolstered, West Coast did miss out on landing Next Generation Academy product Lance Collard after the electric forward was snapped up by St Kilda on the opening night with Pick 28.
Having represented both Subiaco and Western Australia at the National Carnival, Collard turned heads with his ability to create something out of nothing before the goal, drawing parallels to Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill.
Yet, without the ability to match the Saints' bid, the Eagles lost the chance to pair the teenage talent with All-Australian Liam Ryan.
Speaking as the dust settled on Tuesday, O'Brien contended that conversations regarding Academy equity and reform were "certainly worth discussion", especially with Gold Coast provided the chance to match first-round bids for Northern Academy talents Jed Walter and Jake Rogers
"It's really frustrating when you've done a lot of work with those [Academy] players," O'Brien expressed.
"We understand the rules and the objective behind trying to keep things equal, but if you're going to have the NGA Academies, and you're going to do the work with the players, we feel it's time for a real discussion around what that might look like in the future."
O'Brien and the Eagles will once again look to add talent on Wednesday, with the Rookie and Pre-Season Drafts set to take place from 3pm (AEDT).